How to Identify Rarity of NFTs: Top 15 Tools
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are unique digital assets that come with distinctive characteristics and different traits of varying rarity. And based on these traits and rarity, the value of NFTs can change drastically.
Therefore, it is always a good idea to try to identify the rarity of NFTs of a collection when choosing to buy one.
In this article, we will explain how you can identify the rarity of NFTs, and what tools you might need.
Rarity of NFTs, Explained
Have you ever wondered why some NFTs have been valued at millions of dollars while others are almost worthless? Ultimately, an NFT’s value comes down to the subjective valuation by different human beings. However, because NFTs are unique, they are also provably scarce. As such, scarcity is an important aspect in shaping an NFTs value.
While NFTs are indeed unique, they can be part of an overall collection. Among the most popular NFT collections are CryptoPunks or The Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). Important to note: Either collection consists of 10,000 unique NFTs. All of these NFTs within a collection are unique because of their unique token ID.
However, the token ID is not the only thing distinguishing these NFTs. Because of different features, some of them are rarer than others, which goes to show that NFTs within a collection have different rarity scores.
As a consequence, rarity is a defining factor in determining what an NFT is worth within the context of a collection. Used in this context, rarity means how scarce or incomparable an NFT is, which in turn can dictate how valuable such a collectible can be. The higher an NFT’s rarity score, the potentially more valuable the NFT can be.
For instance, the Bored Ape Yacht Club, which is popular among celebrities, has incorporated certain accessories, apparel, or traits to increase the rarity scores of some Apes.
You will notice that out of the 10,000 Apes, less than 0.5% have “solid gold fur,” making apes with this trait to be coveted by collectors.
Having said that, NFT collectors often rank collectibles from a collection based on their rarity, and they want to ascertain how rare or exclusive an item is before purchasing it. The rarer a collectible is, the higher the price it can potentially be traded for.
NFT Rarity Calculation Methods
It is possible to calculate the rarity of an NFT using several methods. By calculating the rarity of an NFT trait based on its rarest trait, taking the average rarity of traits, or examining rarity statistics.
Trait NFT Rarity Ranking
To compare NFTs, one can simply compare the rarest attribute of each non-fungible token. Yet, this approach has one significant flaw despite its simplicity and straightforwardness: it ignores the NFT’s overall rarity, just focusing on the rarest one.
Average Trait Rarity
Another method that will help you check NFT rarity is to average the rarity of traits present on the NFT. If an NFT had two traits, one with a 50% rarity and one with a 10% rarity, then its average trait rarity would be (50+10)/2 = 30%. The problem with this method is that it stresses the overall rarity of every trait, which means the single super NFT rare trait does not receive enough trait value, and the overall rarity value is diluted.
Statistical Rarity
In this method, you multiply all of an NFT’s traits together to determine the NFT’s overall rarity. If an NFT has two traits, one trait has a weight of 10%, and the other has a weight of 50%. That NFT would have a 5% ‘statistical rarity’ (10% * 50%).
These three approaches have different results when comparing the rarity of some NFTs. Average Rarity and Statistical Rarity tend to overvalue many of the traits in an NFT, potentially diluting the value of an ultra-rare, one-of-a-kind trait.
Trait Rarity faces the complete opposite problem by narrowing the calculation to the single rarest trait. A solution? Rarity Score.
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How is NFT rarity calculated?
Although there are three additional ways to calculate rarity (trait rarity ranking, average trait rarity, and statistical rarity), Rarity Score has proven to be the most accurate method.
First introduced and implemented by the founder of rarity.tools, a popular rarity tool, the formula goes as follows.
[Rarity Score for a Trait Value] = 1 / ([Number of Items with that Trait Value] / [Total Number of Items in Collection])
This formula was invented to solve biases within previous rarity calculation methods:
- Trait rarity ranking (ranking only on the rarest trait).
- Average trait rarity (averaging the rarity of all traits together)
- Statistical rarity (multiplying all of the trait rarities together).
As demonstrated in a rarity.tools blog post titled Ranking Rarity: Understanding Rarity Calculation Methods, if you were to compare three Apes using three different methods, you would get three completely different results.
While trait rarity ranking places too much emphasis on rare traits, and average and statistical rarity doesn’t place enough, Rarity Score quickly becomes the perfect middle ground.
And now, while the formula may not be exactly the same, all rarity tool platforms have implemented their own version of Rarity Score which delivers the same accurate ranking output across all platforms.
Top NFT Rarity Tools
Although the formula is pretty straightforward, there’s no point in doing all that math on your own to estimate the rarity of all of your desired NFTs. There are several investment tools available to assist you.
Investments in NFTs come with many risks. Using a reliable NFT investment tool can help you check NFT rarity and stay on top of the changes effortlessly. Needless to say, these tools shouldn’t be used as the only criterion for buying NFTs. Make sure you research the NFT market and project in question well before making a purchase.
1. Rarity Tools
Rarity Tools is the most well-known website for checking an NFT’s rarity. Not all projects are on the website, but many are. Simply search for the project and the NFT’s ID number (ex: CryptoPunk #5522).
You’ll be able to check the NFT’s rarity rank and details of its traits, as well as other information about the project such as total sales volume and average prices.
2. Rarity Sniper
As shown in the example above, Rarity Sniper is one of the market’s most robust and widely trusted Rarity Tools. With a loyal community of more than 492,000 Twitter followers and 321,000 Discord members, the platform boasts the details of nearly 1,800 NFT collections across 18 different blockchains.
As the self-appointed “#1 Source for NFT Rarity,” the platform aims to be bigger than just rarity tools, providing users with a full analytics platform, news outlet, and drop calendar to stay up-to-date on the fast-paced industry.
3. OpenSea
OpenSea is a great tool for determining the rarity of your NFTs based on the number of copies in circulation. It’s easy to use, too; type in the name or ID of an NFT, and it will return how many copies are in existence, how much they’re being sold for, what percentage of all transactions they represent, and so on.
All of this information helps you better understand whether you should be buying a certain item at its current price, if you should wait until after it spikes, or if it would be better to sell off some items before they go down in value.
4. Trait Sniper – for new NFT projects
This tool is used to compare NFT attributes. If you want to get specifics of an NFT project that is relatively new, Trait Sniper is the best tool. Whenever an NFT project is introduced, this tool analyses its Rarity within two minutes.
This tool comes in paid and free versions. However, the paid version presents more benefits, including real-time notifications of upcoming NFT projects and their scores.
5. Moby.gg
Moby.gg is a real-time NFT tracking tool. Moby.gg offers you basic NFT rarity rankings such as NFT traits, markets, and mints. The platform is easy to navigate and lists all the rankings at the top of the homepage. Moby has a Pro version that gives you up to 6 months’ worth of access to real-time information, historical data, statistical charts, NFT signals, wallet alerts, and popular mints.
6. Traitsniper
Traitsniper works a bit differently from the other NFT rarity tools, as it only shows NFT collections that have just been revealed or are about to be revealed.
However, it is a great tool for checking details such as the floor price, royalties, and where to find the project (such as Discord, OpenSea, etc). There are both paid and free versions, with the paid one offering extra perks and more information.
7. icy.tools
The all-in-one NFT analytics platform icy.tools is designed to help traders make more informed and educated decisions. Founded in 2021, it quickly emerged as the go-to resource for many serious traders, largely due to its premium plan with real-time charts and data, favorites, and firehose feeds.
8. RaritySniffer
Similar to Traitsniper, RaritySniffer offers the most recent rankings of new NFT projects based on their rarity. In addition, the platform only displays sniffed projects for free users and provides information on the most recent NFT collections.
Users must subscribe to the Discord channel to get more analysis on potentially rare NFTs. This provides unique access to the rarity status of freshly minted NFTs that have been scented before being made available to the general public.
9. HowRare.is
This tool is used just for NFTs traded at the “Solana” marketplace. This tool gives you the rarity rank and score, sales history, and all attributes of each NFT. You can also determine your NFT’s Rarity by typing your Asset ID on this tool.
However, “HowRare.is” completely ignores the most recognized blockchain of Ethereum, as this tool works just for the Solana platform.
10. Etherscan
According to developers, Etherscan is not only a block browser but is also a token tracker for all Ethereum-based coins as well as an entry point for ERC-721 token contracts. On Ethereum, NFTs are created using the ERC-721 standard, and the Etherscan reports a total of 21,669 tokens that are ERC-721 compliant as of today.
Recently, more functionality was added to the NFT tools set, including information about NFT minting, distribution, transfers, and prices. Many of the applications in this article use the Etherscan APIs and further analyze the data to deliver more valuable insights to the user.
11. Nansen
NFT tools have long sought to identify possibilities in the market, and Nansen.ai was one of the first to provide this capability in 2013. The NFT wallet analysis tool allows users to see a scoreboard of the most profitable NFT wallets based on how much money has been made. Research can lead to better asset management and future planning.
The application also serves as a Wallet and Investment Tracker. Nansen provides detailed information on ERC-20 tokens, including minting fees and secondary NFT shop fees. It also provides real-time analysis of each project’s owner, making it simple to identify and examine them.
12. DappRadar
For quite a while, DappRadar has been considered a trusted source for monitoring the performance of NFT collections. Additionally, they developed an NFT portfolio tracker in 2020 that offered users a simple way of keeping track of Ethereum wallets in real-time.
By entering the Ethereum wallet address or the ENS address, users can receive detailed information about their Ethereum tokens and NFT account balance.
This is a great option if you want NFT rarity tools that will help you track your portfolio individually. DappRadar also includes the most trending NFTs based on a variety of timeframes. Detailed sales, traders, and volume of any NFT collection are available.
13. NFTBank
With a vital instrument like NFTBank, you can obtain rapid insights into investments, which would be a big hit with NFT investors. In the data presented, among other things, you will find ROI, activity, and spending. The NFT Bank is an excellent portfolio management tool for users who want to manage NFT ownership.
Some of the distinctive features of this NFT tool are speed (as it is much faster than others), simple user interface, signals, and NFT portfolio tracker and analytics. The “Analysis and Signals” is a helpful tool to help users find new opportunities for NFT investment. It provides indicators to help them understand the market and follow other users’ portfolios.
14. CryptoSlam
This platform is yet another excellent NFT tool for market research and analysis of non-fungible tokens. Each NFT series has a dedicated page outlining the latest sale and minting activity.
The CryptoSlam ranking NFT tool has all the parameters one would want in an NFT tool, such as NFT sales, floor price, transaction volume, number of owners, and more. The platform also features a dedicated section for NFT Rarity purposes, giving users a complete overview of each non-fungible token.
15. Moby
While Moby may not be very popular, it is an excellent NFT tracking tool. You can get real-time NFT statistics and feeds with this platform. Moby can be a handy app for NFT investors, assisting them with asset monitoring. By limiting the time window to 10 minutes, 60 minutes, 24 hours, and others, investors can start acting on their investments faster.
Moby has a Pro version that gives you access to all the data charts and popular NFT analysis tools. More useful data is available to subscribers, including historical collection data, real-time feeds, NFT signals, etc.
Final Thoughts
NFTs are the talk of the town in the digital world. However, the NFT market is just in its nascent phase, and its hype is not going to diminish sooner. To utilize its potential in the real sense, NFT enthusiasts must invest in NFTs that are highly valued.
The most significant factor while assessing the value of an NFT is its “Rarity.” The Rarity of an NFT is highly significant as it is directly linked to the demand and the price of an NFT. Rare NFTS are always high in demand, so they sell at higher prices.
The Rarity of an NFT differentiates a project by presenting various traits and utility levels. However, with hundreds of rare non-fungible tokens within a collection where each NFT possesses multiple arbitrarily assigned attributes, finding out the rarest NFT becomes a complicated issue.
Several traditional methods are discussed in the blog that has been used to check NFT Rarity, but unfortunately, neither can be said: “Perfect.” “Average Rarity” and “Statistical Rarity” are more focused on the overall rarities of an NFT while ignoring that particular trait that is super rare.
Conversely, “Trait Rarity” just focuses on that particular rarest trait. “Rarity Score” used in the “Rarity Tools” is so far the best approach to assess the Rarity of an NFT as it emphasizes the single rarest trait as well as the overall trait rarities. Hence, it delivers results that correlate with human expectations.
However, just like any other asset, investing in non-fungible tokens involves several risks. No doubt, the tools mentioned in the blog are incredible for determining NFT rarity, but determining Rarity is not the sole criterion to focus on while buying an NFT.
Besides determining the NFT Rarity, if you conduct comprehensive research and get well familiar with the market before making any purchase, you will eventually get a roaring success in the NFT space!
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